A monument to our pasts
by BravenBattler
Summary: John, Six, and Rookie are thrust into a battle for humanity as they fight a new forerunner threat! But will everything collapse as they find the UNSC at their throats? Will these heroes find new, unlikely allies, or be burnt to dust in the wake of the new Prophet's "Fleet of true prosperity"?
1. Chapter 1

**John's POV:**

"Target, south side, seven stories up. Heavily surrounded by guards, armed with heavy tech. Walk in the park marines." John's radio blared, causing him to wince. He could've done this mission alone, but ONI didn't quite trust him, claiming he was still under trauma from Requiem, and his battle with the Didact, despite his claims that he was fine. He did one final check on is MA5D, before the drop into the combat zones of New Harvest.

"Listen up Marines! We got a grade A badass on board, but that doesn't mean you got any right to be babies!" The fire team's CO yelled. "We are Helljumpers! You either hump back aboard a Pelican or-" "IN A BODYBAG, SIR!" The ODSTs yelled, pounding their rifles against the deck in a salute of honor. John frowned at their enthusiasm, as they were acting as rookies. Their confidence would get them killed, without proper vigilance, and tactic.

"Sir, what is recon's assessment of the terrain surrounding the target?" Chief inquired, earning a grin from the CO. "Perfect time to ask, chief, because," He said, passing out Jetpacks, "The terrain is nearly unapproachable from the ground, and since the covies have an AA battery on top of the skyscraper, so the only way in is to fly in from below." As if on cue, the Pelican's door opened, flooding the chamber with light, as soldiers began to pour out.

"Get tactical marines!" The CO yelled, earning an "HOORAH!" from his men.

**Good? Bad? Lemme know :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**A\N-Sorry about the slow update! I was busy with my other fic, Welcome to our Purgatory! Here's a fairly long chapter, with lots of action! Hope you enjoy!**

**Rook's (Rookie's) POV:**

"Second wave, second wave! Romeo, get a sniper on those hinge-heads!" Buck shouted into his mic. As if it was timed, two shots rang out, and a silver armored elite dropped, arms flailing as the shots pierced his helmet. In response, the remaining company of covenant soldiers fired their weapons, a kaleidoscope of pink, green, and blue firing on the team of battle hardened ODSTs.

"Look alive Rook, you got a pair of Hunters on you and Mickey." Dutch said, his Spartan Laser slowly recharging from his last shot on a Wraith tank. Rook sent off a green acknowledgment light, and took a look through his pair of binoculars. The 'Hunters' were actually a pair of Mgalekgolo, plus a compliment of a Revenant, not to mention the Sangheili driver.

Rook frowned. The Hunters alone would be a challenge, but combined fire from the team would bring the tough duo down, with a reasonable amount of ammo expended. The mute helljumper signaled an 'OPEN FIRE' command to his squadmates, and he assigned kill targets to the hunter pair. He received a full amount of green lights from the team. The ODST grimaced. He hated to use the command channels, but since he was second in command, and mute, the UNSC had decided to cut the marine some slack about it. Technically, Buck was the only one who could use SQUADCOM, but also, Rook should have been discharged for his disability. And he would have, were it not for the fact he ranked #1 in arms combat of all non-SPARTAN personnel, and #3 in the entire UNSC's history. It seemed that the forces of Earth and her colonies needed all the troops they could get their hands on.

Either that, or ONI was actually desperate. Neither possibility was very appealing to the fifth member of the elite ODST team.

The two hunters put up their shields to avoid fire from Dutch and Mickey, who carried the heaviest weaponry of the marine team. It was the logical choice, but it was too little, too late. In the time it took the worm masses to raise those unwieldy shields, Buck and Romeo had flanked the bond brothers, effectively chipping away at the Hunters' flesh. Confused, one turned to ward off this unexpected menace, presenting it's fleshy back to Mickey and Dutch, who quickly put it down. The other Mgalekgolo had wisened up, and fired it's arm mounted cannon at Romeo and Buck, sending them scrambling for cover whilst blocking Dutch and Mickey from getting a clear shot.

Rook was having just as bad a time. The Revenant was bombarding the rubble he was hidden in, slowly chipping away at the young ODST's cover. A Silenced SMG and a Shotgun wouldn't deal with it…. Rook grabbed a grenade, pulling the pin, and waited three seconds before lobbing it at the vehicle. The grenade bounced once, and landed under the Revenant's fuel container. The Elite had enough time to let out a surprised garble, before the grenade exploded, setting fire to the container of fuel. The Sangheili was sent flying, but had landed on his left arm miraculously.

The hinge head stood shakily, and roared indignantly. He pulled a small, cylindrical device from it's hip plate, which ignited into a three foot blade of pulsing blue fire.

Damn Elite had an energy sword.

Rook had barely any time to avoid the plasma sword's arc where his head had been moments ago. The ODST unslung his Shotgun, and pumped a shell into the weapon, firing it off at the looming alien. The projectiles bounced off of the Elite harmlessly, energy shield protecting him. Rook pumped a second shell into the alien, and then a third, then a fourth. The alien roared as his shields dissipated, prying the weapon out of Rook's hands, casting it aside, and picking up the mute like a ragdoll. The marine made a choked noise, struggling to free himself from the Elite's steel grasp around his neck.

The ODST's vision began to blur, and the alien chuckled darkly. His was killing Rook at his leisure. The ODST twisted, trying to rid the alien of his grasp, when he spotted his shotgun lying on a pile of rubble, within his clutches. The ODST reached out subtly. If he was too slow, the Elite would choke him to death. If he was too fast…. the Elite would rend him apart with the fiery weapon in his other hand.

The Elite was too immersed in this slow torturous murder to notice Rook's fingers curl around the Shotgun's handle, index finger sliding into the trigger guard. In a single swift moment, the gun was placed against the alien's stomach, ready to fire. Rook smiled, unpolarizing his VISR so the bastard could see the face of his killer as the ODST pulled the trigger.

_Click._

….

The weapon wasn't pumped.

….

Oh, shit.

The Elite roared furiously at Rook's attempted attack. He threw him, allowing the body to land several meters away… against a pile of rubble. A loud CRACK! sounded as a few of Rook's ribs broke, and his head slammed against his helmet. Blood streamed down down the inside of his VISR, courtesy of a new cut on the ODST's forehead. He tasted copper in his mouth. The now pissed off hinge head strode toward him at a leisure pace, flicking the tip of his energy sword against the street as he went, leaving deep scars in the cracked and broken road. The mute struggled to get up, slowly moving, but ultimately failed to get up and mount an act of defiance.

The Elite let out another throaty chuckle, and picked up the limp form of Rook. He raised his sword, prepared to deliver the final strike. Rook squeezed his eyes shut, expecting himself to be cut in two.

Without warning, the Elite tensed, groaned, and fell. Unfortunately, this trapped Rook under his bulk. The ODST squirmed, trying to force the much larger being off. Dutch walked over to Rook, and pumped a fresh shell into his shotgun, which was still smoking from the shot at the Elite. The tactical weapons specialist dragged the alien corpse off of Rook, who sat up, cautiously drawing in a breath.

"Damn Rook," Romeo said over the comms, "I know you have a thing for taller people, but I never thought you had that in mind." The wisecracking ODST chuckled, but the others simply gave a blank look at the attempted humor.


End file.
